This handcut paper collage features Tulsa artist @branjaemusic, sourced from a September/October 2020 issue of Oklahoma Today, written by Kashea McCowan (@kasheacecille). The figure rises atop Venus, an image pulled from one of my astronomy books, emerging through the Rosette Nebula, Oklahoma’s official Deep Sky Object.

As I worked, I didn’t impose direction—I simply followed where the composition led me. The act of collage, much like life itself, is a practice in surrender, in trusting that the art already exists and is only waiting to be revealed. This echoes Jackson Pollock’s philosophy: “The painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through.”

In this piece, the celestial meets the earthly, the known meets the unknown, and art meets artist in a moment of discovery. It is a testament to embracing the creative process, allowing vulnerability to lead, and letting the journey of making be as meaningful as the final image itself.